The End Of QE Won't Kill This Bull Market [View article]
"They said the same thing about the Maestro when he left, and the market chugged along for another two years."
Yes, and two years after the chugging was a GIGANTIC crashing sound proving that the whole thing was a house of cards and not a well built train engine that kept "chugged along". It's unclear that you are saying this or the opposite. What is clear is that whether they are "Maestros, engineers, or just plain government bureaucrats, they don't have a clue. Even if they try to put up a facade that looks like they do.
Today's Eurogroup meeting in Dublin shows the sad incoherence of the Cyprus rescue, says Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian. By approving a €10B package, Europe has called on Cyprus to find an additional €6B euros to cover what is now a larger funding hole. It now needs to generate a total of €13B, which is a daunting sum for such a small country. The Troika, says El-Erian, has now botched a Cyprus rescue twice in less than a month. The implications cannot be good for Cyprus - nor for Europe as a whole. [View news story]
This may be the quote of the year, if not the decade or the century: "The historical failure rate for socialism remains 100%".
What makes a good share buyback? Barron's cites four factors: i) Shares are in a downtrend. ii) It's a long-term strategy and not a short-term fix ( = >1% share count reduction/quarter). iii) Shares are cheap based on price-to-book. iv) The company has a rising dividend. The stocks that pass the test? Wellpoint (WLP), Seagate (STX), Western Union (WU) and AT&T (T). [View news story]
Question: Michael Fitzsimmons. is your comment supposed to read:
Here's an article on "HOW" *not* to do share buybacks: ExxonMobil: Buyback Heavy, Dividend Light: ?
Deposits over €100K at the Bank of Cyprus will be taxed at 62.5%, sources tell Reuters. The figure is far greater than officials originally indicated. Customers will get 37.5% of their deposits over the €100K threshold in bank shares while the remainder of their cash "may never be paid back."[View news story]
How did the Russian mobsters move all of their money out of the Cyprus banks? They guaranteed the safety of all banking presidents and their families. As for maxiedog, does he somehow think that Cyprus is in the US so it's bank must abide by US law? Very confused.
Airlines around the world have gone to great lengths in recent years to reduce the weight they carry, with an eye to decreasing fuel requirements and increasing profit. So if weight is such a key concern for airlines' operations, why not charge for overweight passengers as well as overweight baggage? At least one economist thinks it's a great idea. [View news story]
They already do. Its called buying two seats. DOH!
Despite today's closing hiccup, the S&P 500 is up in January and February this year. This has occurred 26 times since 1945, notes Bob Pisani, and each time the S&P finished green for the year, with an average gain of 24%. [View news story]
Hecky, it appears that you sat out math class in elementary school if you think that 26 is over half of 69. And people wonder about America's lack of a competitive edge.
While there are "dark warnings" that the U.S. is becoming like Japan, what's wrong with that? asks Zachary Karabell on Reuters. Sure, Japan has "chronic deflation, a sluggish job market, an aging population, an insular culture and (stagnant) growth." But its citizens are are prosperous and healthy, and have a high life expectancy, "democratic government is orderly and ordered," and the country has an efficient bureaucracy. [View news story]
If Mr.Karabell would step away from his privileged life for just a second and actually look at what his delusion of "prosperous" really means he might have as different opinion. As for "a high life expectancy" being a good thing, if making the Kool Aid last as long as possible is Mr. Karabell's idea of perfection he can have all of mine. I prefer self sufficiency.
How much debt can the U.S. handle? A new paper quantifies an 80% public debt to GDP ratio - where the U.S. is right now - as the point at which a nation reaches a potential tipping point; once a nation has debt above that level, it becomes vulnerable to the kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycles that have crippled others. Two responses from Fed officials see the analysis as simplistic and eurocentric. [View news story]
The FED says, "this time is different". Look out below.
Bernanke reminds me of one of those doctors on TV who keeps using the defibrillator long after everyone else in the room knows that the patient is dead. The only difference is that on TV the patient can't get more dead. With Bernanke the situation can and will get worse with each charge.
The WSJtakes issue with the assertion by the White House, and echoed by the NYT, that "a range of economic studies" show that increasing the minimum doesn't "measurably" hurt jobs. That "grossly misstates the weight of the evidence," says economist David Neumark, with 85% of studies finding "a negative employment effect on low-skilled workers." Especially hard hit are young black adults, the WSJ argues. [View news story]
PT Barnum said there was a sucker born every minute and some on this board prove him right. The minimum wage hoax is as wrong headed and manipulated as the global warming hoax but instead of taking a "fool me once..." approach, they see one as justifying the other. How sad. It appears to be a truism that you can't fix stupid.
Marketing analysts say Nestle (NSRGY.PK) seemed like it was asleep at the social media switch last night when it failed to act quickly after the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address put the company into the spotlight quite unexpectedly with a parched Senator Rubio grabbing a quick drink (video) from a Poland Spring water bottle. A direct bump of $3M in sales and an untold boost to brand awareness through Facebook and Twitter was left on the table by Nestle's lackadaisical response, according to Impact Branding & Design's John Bonini. [View news story]
The idea that Nestle "feel asleep at the social media switch' because they didn't take advantage of a silly drink of water tells you far more about the priorities of the writer and maybe even the public now than it does about Neslte. It may be true, but it just confirms that we are now firmly in the Age of Stupid. What something looks like is now far more important than what something actually is. They will be shocked when fundamentals return. It will not be pretty.
A weekend deal between longshoremen and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (representing shipping companies and port associations in the East and Gulf coasts) will avert a strike that would cost the economy $1B/day and spur shortages of consumer goods. The largest port involved was the Port of New York and New Jersey; the dispute centered on container royalties shared between shippers and union members. [View news story]
The real question here is why does someone put a picture of a semi naked girl up as a representation of them self.
As part of a settlement in the Libor-rigging case, the U.S. wants a RBS unit to plead guilty to criminal charges in addition to a hefty fine, according to sources. RBS execs are worried a guilty plea could cost it business, but U.S. regulators note a UBS unit pled guilty to similar charges in December with nary a market reaction. [View news story]
Who gets the "hefty fine"? The people who were hurt by the supposed action. No. The US government. This is nothing more than a shakedown unless the people who lost money are paid back.
California is in dire fiscal straits, but tapping its Saudi Arabia-scale oil resources could wipe out the state's debt and deficits, Mark Mills writes. The Monterey shale field alone may hold 15.4B barrels of oil, rivaling America's total conventional reserves, and the overall economic benefits of opening up Monterey could reach $1T. [View news story]
All I can say is, I want some of what Manifestor is smoking. California has "balanced their budget for 2013." HUH!!! From the Sacramento Bee, "The governor's declaration that the deficit is gone contrasts with the November projection from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office that the state still faced a $1.9 billion shortfall,". Besides, all you have to do is live here to know that this is complete nonsense.
The End Of QE Won't Kill This Bull Market [View article]
Yes, and two years after the chugging was a GIGANTIC crashing sound proving that the whole thing was a house of cards and not a well built train engine that kept "chugged along". It's unclear that you are saying this or the opposite. What is clear is that whether they are "Maestros, engineers, or just plain government bureaucrats, they don't have a clue. Even if they try to put up a facade that looks like they do.
Today's Eurogroup meeting in Dublin shows the sad incoherence of the Cyprus rescue, says Pimco's Mohamed El-Erian. By approving a €10B package, Europe has called on Cyprus to find an additional €6B euros to cover what is now a larger funding hole. It now needs to generate a total of €13B, which is a daunting sum for such a small country. The Troika, says El-Erian, has now botched a Cyprus rescue twice in less than a month. The implications cannot be good for Cyprus - nor for Europe as a whole. [View news story]
"The historical failure rate for socialism remains 100%".
What makes a good share buyback? Barron's cites four factors: i) Shares are in a downtrend. ii) It's a long-term strategy and not a short-term fix ( = >1% share count reduction/quarter). iii) Shares are cheap based on price-to-book. iv) The company has a rising dividend. The stocks that pass the test? Wellpoint (WLP), Seagate (STX), Western Union (WU) and AT&T (T). [View news story]
Michael Fitzsimmons. is your comment supposed to read:
Here's an article on "HOW" *not* to do share buybacks: ExxonMobil: Buyback Heavy, Dividend Light: ?
Deposits over €100K at the Bank of Cyprus will be taxed at 62.5%, sources tell Reuters. The figure is far greater than officials originally indicated. Customers will get 37.5% of their deposits over the €100K threshold in bank shares while the remainder of their cash "may never be paid back." [View news story]
As for maxiedog, does he somehow think that Cyprus is in the US so it's bank must abide by US law? Very confused.
Airlines around the world have gone to great lengths in recent years to reduce the weight they carry, with an eye to decreasing fuel requirements and increasing profit. So if weight is such a key concern for airlines' operations, why not charge for overweight passengers as well as overweight baggage? At least one economist thinks it's a great idea. [View news story]
Despite today's closing hiccup, the S&P 500 is up in January and February this year. This has occurred 26 times since 1945, notes Bob Pisani, and each time the S&P finished green for the year, with an average gain of 24%. [View news story]
While there are "dark warnings" that the U.S. is becoming like Japan, what's wrong with that? asks Zachary Karabell on Reuters. Sure, Japan has "chronic deflation, a sluggish job market, an aging population, an insular culture and (stagnant) growth." But its citizens are are prosperous and healthy, and have a high life expectancy, "democratic government is orderly and ordered," and the country has an efficient bureaucracy. [View news story]
How much debt can the U.S. handle? A new paper quantifies an 80% public debt to GDP ratio - where the U.S. is right now - as the point at which a nation reaches a potential tipping point; once a nation has debt above that level, it becomes vulnerable to the kind of self-reinforcing vicious cycles that have crippled others. Two responses from Fed officials see the analysis as simplistic and eurocentric. [View news story]
Bernanke's Kryptonite [View article]
Bernanke reminds me of one of those doctors on TV who keeps using the defibrillator long after everyone else in the room knows that the patient is dead. The only difference is that on TV the patient can't get more dead. With Bernanke the situation can and will get worse with each charge.
The WSJ takes issue with the assertion by the White House, and echoed by the NYT, that "a range of economic studies" show that increasing the minimum doesn't "measurably" hurt jobs. That "grossly misstates the weight of the evidence," says economist David Neumark, with 85% of studies finding "a negative employment effect on low-skilled workers." Especially hard hit are young black adults, the WSJ argues. [View news story]
Marketing analysts say Nestle (NSRGY.PK) seemed like it was asleep at the social media switch last night when it failed to act quickly after the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address put the company into the spotlight quite unexpectedly with a parched Senator Rubio grabbing a quick drink (video) from a Poland Spring water bottle. A direct bump of $3M in sales and an untold boost to brand awareness through Facebook and Twitter was left on the table by Nestle's lackadaisical response, according to Impact Branding & Design's John Bonini. [View news story]
A weekend deal between longshoremen and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (representing shipping companies and port associations in the East and Gulf coasts) will avert a strike that would cost the economy $1B/day and spur shortages of consumer goods. The largest port involved was the Port of New York and New Jersey; the dispute centered on container royalties shared between shippers and union members. [View news story]
As part of a settlement in the Libor-rigging case, the U.S. wants a RBS unit to plead guilty to criminal charges in addition to a hefty fine, according to sources. RBS execs are worried a guilty plea could cost it business, but U.S. regulators note a UBS unit pled guilty to similar charges in December with nary a market reaction. [View news story]
China's Electricity Conclusions Reexamined [View article]
California is in dire fiscal straits, but tapping its Saudi Arabia-scale oil resources could wipe out the state's debt and deficits, Mark Mills writes. The Monterey shale field alone may hold 15.4B barrels of oil, rivaling America's total conventional reserves, and the overall economic benefits of opening up Monterey could reach $1T. [View news story]
Besides, all you have to do is live here to know that this is complete nonsense.